Revenge is the Sweetest Thing
by green frogs
Summary: A modern Persuasion where Anne&Frederick's roles switched: "Frederick Wentworth was so determined but in the end, he was the one so easily persuaded and for that, I can never forgive him. He broke my heart and all I wanted was revenge."


Frederick Wentworth. 

When most people are asked to describe Frederick Wentworth, they would often call him handsome, clever, funny, rich and strong willed. If I were asked to describe Frederick, I would call him evil, money obsessed, cold hearted, weak and a jerk. 

Erik-no I mean Frederick-and I met freshman year of college. We were in the same English 19th century Literature class. And that's basically how it all started. In between Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters and more than enough Dickens to last me a lifetime, I fell in love with Frederick Wentworth, probably one of the worst mistakes of my whole entire life. Love is a great and powerful thing. It just hurts like hell when you get your heart broken doesn't it? 

He was and still is quite a famous and important man. His mother was part of the French or English nobility while his father was at the time the 9th richest man in the world. He was rich and considered quite a bachelor. He loved sports and was one of the handsomest guys on campus. Rich, funny, very sociable and good-looking? Who wouldn't want a guy like that? But more importantly than that, he loved literature. Don't get me wrong. He isn't the kind of guy who would take a major in English and go off and become an editor or a starving writer. No he had decided he wanted to become the richest man in the world and to prove to his father he was more than capable when he was just 7. When I was 7, I was still trying to figure out how you added apples together. 

He's quite an impressive man. I guess I'll give him that. He's very determined and when he wanted something, he would let nothing stop him in his way. I suppose that was the part of him that I admired the most. I was always shy, weak and perhaps even a wallflower. I bended to everyone's will and tried to make everyone happy, unaware of my own needs or desires. But in the end, he was the one who was easily persuaded and for that, I can never forgive him. 

He sat next to me the first day of English literature and I thought I would hate him. I had already heard more than enough from my roommates about the famous Mr. Wentworth. Those kinds of guys were either jerks or dumb as a doorknob. And they were _always_ arrogant. 

However, Frederick Wentworth surprised me to the greatest degree. He was charming, funny and _kind_. He was determined of course, but also very nice. He also knew a great deal and when the professor asked us questions about our thoughts on the novel, it would often end up in a heated discussion between the two of us, arguing about Austen's view of romance and Dickens' view of society. Without realizing it, he had made me less shy and more confidant than I had ever been in my whole entire life. I suppose for that, I shall also have to give him my thanks. 

We worked together, we competed for good grades in the only class we had together and became fast friends. We had so much in common, so much to talk about and I've always enjoyed his company. We would spend hours on the grass surrounding the dorms, just talking about books and music and dreams and everything under the moon. I often wondered why he would like someone like me. Though I wasn't poor, I was nowhere near the kind of wealth he had. I was also not the type of girl he would go after. The year when I was simply his "friend," I found that the girlfriends he had were all strong willed women who were quite decided on where they wanted to go in life. Me? I didn't have a single clue. I was majoring in English and Medicine. The medicine part was wholly my mother's choice. She wanted me to become a doctor just like her. But me? I wanted to read and nothing else. I wasn't even a very good editor though my professors said I wrote brilliant papers. I really had no idea where I was going with my life. I was so unlike Frederick. He was always so determined. He always had a path to follow, steps to take and a schedule to keep. 

I didn't know why. Perhaps now that I think about it, maybe he never loved me. I don't know. But he did ask me out after freshman year. You could not believe how surprised I was. Frederick Wentworth, the richest, most popular guy in the whole campus has asked me, the wallflower, out. It was like something out of some cliché teenage romance novel or something like that. And I loved him. Oh yes. Head over heals in love. He said it many times too that he loved me as well. Perhaps he was too perfect but I've always thought he was just a little bit out of reach for someone like me. But we were in love. I didn't think about that until after the fact. I was too happy. 

He also proposed. He wanted _to marry_ me. It was the end of senior year and he was going to go to business school. He wanted me to _marry_ him. Marriage. I think any girl would've said yes. He was like Prince Charming and I felt like he had just placed the shining glass slipper right on my foot just as he had slipped that emerald ring onto my finger. 

As I've said before, love is a beautiful and powerful thing. It just hurts like hell when you get your heart broken. He broke the engagement off because his father didn't approve. His father had planned for him to marry someone much richer and more connected, a gentleman's daughter at least. He had threatened to cut Frederick off without a cent of his inheritance, which was somewhere in the billions. 

And you know what was funny? Instead of telling me he didn't care about money and wanting to run off and marry me in the name of love without the approval of his father just like they do in all the books and movies, he broke off the engagement. I thought I knew him so well. For three years, we've dated and loved each other but I've only realized who he really was during the last few minutes of our acquaintance. And perhaps I even have to thank his father for not approving. I think I've finally understood the character of Frederick Wentworth. In his heart, money was number one and the woman he loves is a distant second. 

He valued money more than he valued me. He broke my heart and I don't think it was ever possible to hate someone and love them at the same time as I did. I became so determined afterwards as well. The shy little girl who was afraid to even sit next to Frederick Wentworth was gone. Instead, I had become a woman who was determined to get revenge. I was going to make him feel sorry for leaving me for money. 

And the perfect chance arrived one beautiful bright morning on my way to Kellynch Hall, though I didn't know it at the time.


End file.
